Sununu co-sponsors effort to repeal the REAL ID
CONCORD, N.H. --Sen. John Sununu says now that the Department of Homeland Security has released more details of its proposed federal ID, he continues to support legislation to end the program.
Homeland Security says that by 2014, anyone seeking to board an airplane or enter a federal building will have to present a secure driver's license compliant with the 2005 federal REAL ID Act.
Sununu says the REAL ID Act imposes a nearly $4 billion unfunded mandate on states and he says the program fails to protect personal information that will be stored and shared among the states and the federal government.
"Although I am still reviewing the regulations, the fact remains that the REAL ID program presents serious privacy concerns and is an unfunded, unnecessary, and intrusive mandate on the state," Sununu said.
The program has been delayed by opposition from states worried about the cost and civil libertarians upset about what they believe are invasions of privacy. A key deadline would come in 2011, when federal authorities hope all states will be in compliance.
Sununu opposes any version of a national identity card. He says the REAL ID Act should be repealed and replaced with a process that allows states the flexibility to produce tamper resistant licenses that protect national security but still protect civil liberties.
He co-sponsored legislation last year to repeal the act. 